Normally I'm on one side of life or the other - trying to figure out what 'balance' really is. I know that life with children has a wider range of emotions to offer. I know it widens the spectrum for my husband and I too.
I was meditating this morning and some things that drifted by were thoughts of life without kids. Had my husband and I never had them... would we ever really quarrel or find ourselves splashing around in the extreme sides of our emotions? We are so peaceful when they are at grandma's for the weekend ; ) It's so calm and happy that it's kind of boring and I find I'm calling by Saturday afternoon for a little 'excitement' hehe... I am an adult child of chaos still : ) but I can embrace it today.
We don't really know what to do with ourselves usually. We go for long walks along the river and through downtown... we stop and eat sweet things we wouldn't dare even walk past with the kids... we giggle and flirt and get interested in our surroundings instead of all eyes on the ones who might wander into the street, or who knows where else... then we come home and realize the ceilings are much taller - and the house is really much bigger than we need... as if we've never sat in it before and we're house shopping.
It occurs to me that life with kids, means balance has to encompass and pull in lots of things that wouldn't otherwise fit... and peace and serenity have to be cherished in milliseconds, and we parents must always be on the look out for those tiny treasures and moments of joy.
Suddenly as if I were no longer even in my body - I floated to the place I would go in my mind as a child when life was too unbearable, and the boogy monsters were having their silent party under my bed and in my closet... and I could actually feel the clover and grass under my feet. I could smell the sweet air and feel the breeze... and I was *poof* gone to the adaptive land where if I believe in it, it's exists.
Serenity does exist if you believe in it. In the midst of what some may say is the most unbalanced and unhealthy surroundings... there is always a HP waiting for me in the sunny clover fields... and today It was shown to me: He was always there.
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Thanks for everything. Peace and Love on your journey.
We have four kids of our own, and I can completely relate to the idea that "..peace and serenity have to be cherished in milliseconds." Well-said!
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The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour. ---William James
Yes I also have 4 children 2 in their mid forties and 2 in their mid twenties and I missed "a lot of those moments" being caught in the grip but God (of my understanding) has graced us with our beautiful little 2 year old grandaughter Jaelyn Amyiah(and soon to be an addition) and PAPA is ecstactic ,savoring all the moments I can ,like a sponge and being gratefully worn out...From the mouths of babes and the spirit of the child WE can find that serenity of that 'tight squeeze" or your name being called on in love........With God ,all things are possible........Stay blessed and in strength and peace..
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Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
You have emerged into sober living as a butterfly emerging from a cocoon ... to fly in spirit with the life that surrounds you ... you have become one of the 'rocks' my AA foundation is built upon, where my sobriety resides ... my love for you grows daily ...
God Bless, Pappy
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
I'd mentioned in a different thread about how balance is something I need to be aware of and always looking for, and lo I find this thread just after it...
And thanks for the father's day greetings. We do a different day here, but i'll take yours as well, and put it on the other side of the see-saw: balance, you see. :)
